Buying Advice Who has a Craftsman 33" walk behind Model# 88998

[blownalcohol]

Sears has this mower on sale now. Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

Has anyone here owned this mower before? There are mixed reviews on this mower. Is this really a cub cadet with a different motor?

Is this a good mower for home use?

 

[LandN]

sears sells the "red" model and the"yellow/black" model which they call the profesional model, which is open for debate imo. my son bought a used "red" model a fews years back(at sears) and had a few issues with it. a couple of drive cables broke at the "S" hook on the handle grips and the trans took a dump on it.all issues were promptly fixed by the sears home repair service(mobile van) and were very courtious,i give them 5 stars for that.keep in mind this was bought used and it looked it too.once the issues were resolved the mower actually cut very well on side discharge mode and mulched good with the addition of mulching blades. bagging was also good. both my son and i used this mower pretty hard on several different lawns.all in all, it cut well.it did have the 2"overlap on the blades to eliminate a center strip while cutting taller grass which was problematic on the older ones as well as the twin sister of this mower,the older troy-bilt 33" mower which i owned 2 of those. now the sears "yellow/black professional model has the addition of a headlight and an hour meter and a larger engine.if i were to own one now the pro model would be the one i would buy,and a new one at that. now if have a "worldlawn" dealer by you,they have a very nice 28" cut mower that is heavier duty than the sears 33" model for roughly the same ball park money.i'm out of garage space or i would have one now:laughing:

 

[Carl Bert]

Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. If you like throwing away your hard earned money, then go right ahead and buy one. If your looking for a quality machine, that will last for many years to come, then stay far away. This is just my opinion, but its an opinion coming from a guy who has been beaten by them more times then I care to remember. The crap that they sell is no better then what you would find in the BB stores. Need I say more. The only descent product they make are their ratchets and sockets, and I only buy them because they come with a lifetime guarantee.

 

[LandN]

Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. If you like throwing away your hard earned money, then go right ahead and buy one. If your looking for a quality machine, that will last for many years to come, then stay far away. This is just my opinion, but its an opinion coming from a guy who has been beaten by them more times then I care to remember. The crap that they sell is no better then what you would find in the BB stores. Need I say more. The only descent product they make are their ratchets and sockets, and I only buy them because they come with a lifetime guarantee.

You make a pretty general statement against this particular mower in question.what in particular is the issues that you found that make this an undesirable mower? keep in mind that this is not a commercial duty mower such as what a professional landscaper would run 10 hrs. a day with,but a homeowners model that would be used once or twice a week,as an optional upgrade to a 21" push mower.what did you find?

 

[Ric]

Sears has this mower on sale now. Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

Has anyone here owned this mower before? There are mixed reviews on this mower. Is this really a cub cadet with a different motor?

Is this a good mower for home use?

Actually It's a Cub Cadet with the same motor. Sears offers the mower at $1299 and a 2 year warranty which stinks. You can buy the mower the same CC760 from Cub Cadet and have a 3 year or 120 hour which ever comes first Warranty and there price is $1149 and have dealer back up if something should happen to the mower. http://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/gallery_10051_14101_1210164_33830_600000_-1_image As far as the quality of the mower, if all you're going to use it for is home use it would probably be as good as anything else.

 

[blownalcohol]

I am sure it will be fine for my needs. I just want a more powerful and wider cut push mower than the standard 21" to 22" mower. This is for my yard only.
I may get the CC 760ES for $1299. It has a 420cc and electric start. The sears and the CC 760 has 344cc

 

[Carl Bert]

You make a pretty general statement against this particular mower in question.what in particular is the issues that you found that make this an undesirable mower? keep in mind that this is not a commercial duty mower such as what a professional landscaper would run 10 hrs. a day with,but a homeowners model that would be used once or twice a week,as an optional upgrade to a 21" push mower.what did you find?

Yes I am making a general statement, but not about this particular mower. I am making a general statement about Sears Craftsman as a whole. I have owned Sears tractors and mowers and they are crap. Yes it's true, if you put it in your garage and don't use it, it will last a lifetime, wonderful. Try and use it, as it was meant to be used, and your lucky if you get a few years out of it.

This one in particular is made by Cub Cadet, but the low end Cadet. This is the line that they made when they sold out to the BB stores, absolute garbage. It's like buying a John Deere from Home Depot and thinking that you have a real John Deere. It just isn't so.

John Deere, Cub Cadet and Toro made this low quality line of machines to sell to the homeowner who doesn't know any better and isn't willing to, or can't afford to spend what it takes to make a quality machine. They are in business to make money, so who can blame them.

The OP asked for our opinions, well that's mine. Sorry if you don't agree.

 

[twall]

Carl Bert,

Well, cubs are made by MTD, and have been since the 80's..(ALL OF THEM)...as is this mower. Snapper also makes a mowing product or two for Sears. As crap companies also have.

I think LandN's point is you made a blanket statement about Sears, with just your experience to go on. So, you gave up on them after buying crap. They put their name on it. But, they have also put their name on good, quality machines as well. I posted about a great RER bearing the name of Craftsman in this very thread. That thing is made by SNAPPER. The same snapper that's been making really great RER's since the beginning.....

So, if you're biased, fine. But you don't have a specific beef about this machine itself - just the brand name....and the brush you just used is broad indeed. He asked for opinions, but I think the kind you offered aren't what he was after........sorry to say.

...and that'd be just MY opinion, too....:biggrin:

 

[LandN]

craftsman mower#88998 was inquired about in the first post and was asked if anyone owned THAT mower,well my son owns the sister mower to that one, and i also have cut with it.(thats close enough). I also included issues with the mower. your post (i believe#3)urged not to buy.i thought maybe you knew why they were garbage /crap mowers(using examples of troublesome areas).:smile:i've known several people that have succesfully owned sears mowers for years,some have had trouble with self propelled issues and carb issues with stale gas etc. its kind of like saying fords are junk,when there may be just a model or two that has problems:thumbsup::smile:

 

[Carl Bert]

craftsman mower#88998 was inquired about in the first post and was asked if anyone owned THAT mower,well my son owns the sister mower to that one, and i also have cut with it.(thats close enough). I also included issues with the mower. your post (i believe#3)urged not to buy.i thought maybe you knew why they were garbage /crap mowers(using examples of troublesome areas).:smile:i've known several people that have succesfully owned sears mowers for years,some have had trouble with self propelled issues and carb issues with stale gas etc. its kind of like saying fords are junk,when there may be just a model or two that has problems:thumbsup::smile:

I'm sorry, let me look for another thread with the title "Do the majority of Craftsman suck?" If you guys are happy buying garbage, who am I to try and convince you otherwise. Truth is, I don't need to. Time will do that for me. Hey, you ever notice how many guys collect and restore old John Deere tractors? Ever wonder why no one collects Craftsman?:laughing::laughing::laughing: